Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer : And the Birth of the Modern Arms Race

by McMillan, Priscilla (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780142001158
• ISBN10: 0142001155
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

In a groundbreaking book that recasts the history of the Cold War, bestselling author Priscilla J. McMillan exposes, for the first time, the truth behind J. Robert Oppenheimer’s 1954 trial on charges of violating national security. Drawing on newly declassified papers and extensive interviews, McMillan places Oppenheimer’s opposition to development of the hydrogen bomb at the heart of the story—opposition that made him the victim of government officials who, conspiring with rival scientist Edward Teller, deceived President Eisenhower and trapped the enigmatic genius who had done more than anyone to build the atomic bomb. A chilling exposé of the McCarthy-era conspiracy that helped propel the East-West arms race, this is a spellbinding work of history.

Author Biography

Priscilla J. McMillan, a fellow of the Russian Research Center at Harvard, is the author of the bestselling Marina and Lee. She has also written for the New York Times, Harper-'s, Scientific American, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
1945-1949	p. 15
David Lilienthal's Vacation	p. 17
The Maneuvering Begins	p. 24
The Halloween Meeting	p. 34
The Secret Debate	p. 48
Lost Opportunities	p. 57
1950	p. 63
Fuchs's Betrayal	p. 65
Fission versus Fusion	p. 82
Teller	p. 92
Ulam	p. 100
1951-1952	p. 113
Teller's Choice	p. 115
The Second Lab	p. 127
A New Era	p. 136
1952-1954	p. 143
Sailing Close to the Wind	p. 145
Strauss Returns	p. 159
Two Wild Horses	p. 169
The Blank Wall	p. 177
Hoover	p. 182
The Hearing Begins	p. 195
Smyth	p. 210
Borden	p. 217
Caesar's Wife	p. 225
Do We Really Need Scientists?	p. 238
Oppenheimer	p. 251
We Made It-and We Gave It Away	p. 256
Postlude	p. 266
Acknowledgments	p. 271
Notes	p. 275
Selected Bibliography	p. 315
Index	p. 343
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